Thanks, Partner
by SkywardGratis
Summary: AU of the season finale. No Spoilers for the actual episode. The chase for the dragon had been a major part of her life for so long. Kate never expected the end to look like this though.


She felt the vibrations of the explosion ricochet around the warehouse. Fireballs shot upwards and she could hear the sounds of metal imploding on itself. She felt his strangled breathing as his chest rose and fell above her. The splintering wood scratched against her back, dirt covering her jacket.

Somehow he'd known they would never make it out of the building before the explosion started... she didn't understand at the time but had no choice but to follow him when he switch their direction and dragged her the opposite direction of the exit. The door to the shipping container had been slightly ajar and he had roughly shoved her through the opening before pulling it closed behind him. She rest against the wall, her eyes darting around the contained space as he shut the door as far as he could.

Mentally she counted down... she reckoned they had about ten seconds before the spark met the gasoline. He grasped her hand in his tightly and pulled her gently towards him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and he lowered them to the floor, his body pushing hers into the solid wood.

She stared into his eyes as he looked back at her, his arms holding her tightly and his body covering hers as much as possible. She should have flipped them over. She was the Detective. She was meant to keep him safe, not the other way around...but somehow this seemed right. He'd been fighting to protect her from the people who had killed her mother and shot her for so long now without her really realising it... and as she looked up at him she knew he understood. Just as she now finally understood why he had tried to protected her; no matter how much she had fought him on it over the last few weeks.

Time slowed as she locked eyes with him, each lost in their own thoughts and regrets. She could feel the vibrations getting stronger beneath her back and shuddered as the smell of burning wood filtered through her senses.

_A crash followed by the sound of falling metal._

_The whining of warped steel._

_Shattering glass._

_Another explosion._

He pushed her further into the wooden floor as the metal shell protecting them gave in to the fire licking at its edges. Her eyes slammed shut as he pressed his lips tightly against hers and she focused on the feel of his body against hers as the sounds around them gained volume.

_A loud crash._

_Metal scraping against metal._

_Wood splintering._

His lips moved desperately over hers, and she fought to give it all back to him as the metal around them creaked before shuddering and collapsing inwards on them.

The world around them went black; she could feel nothing but the press of his body against hers. Silence stood still around them. No crashing. No creaking. She could still smell fire burning from somewhere. Slowly testing her range of movement Kate opened her eyes and shifted so she could turn to look at Rick. His head lay tightly against her shoulder, dirt and slight flecks of blood covered his otherwise ordinary features.

"Rick…" Her throat threatened to close up as she attempted to speak. A cloud of dust was falling around them, smoke filtering through the now crumbled metal container. "Castle." Kate managed to pull one arm out from underneath his bulk and poked him slightly in the side. She felt his body jerk and it wasn't long before she felt his lashes flickering against her cheek.

"Kate?" His voice sounded worse than hers and she wondered how much smoke he'd already inhaled. She held her breath as Rick moved slightly; his arms moving to lift his weight up from off her body. "You're okay?"

She stared up at him as his eyes darted over her body, checking for injuries she assumed.

"Banged up but yeah…" He leaned down and pressed his lips roughly to hers. She gasped as he inadvertently pressed her further into the wood beneath her. Pulling back from him, her breathing laboured as she struggled to form the words she knew needed to be heard.

"We need to get out of here." He spoke her thoughts and she rolled her eyes as he grinned at her. Nodding she waited for him to lever himself off of her. After some awkward manovering they both managed to get to a sitting position.

Taking her first look at the metal around them Kate gasped as she took in how mangled to the previously solid container had become. Rick's hand grasped hers as she watched as he forced a piece of metal away from them, creating a small gap between their previous position and what had originally been the outside of the container. He pulled her up and Kate stumbled, struggling to get her legs to hold her weight.

"I've got you." His whispered words were spoken directly into her ear and she nodded as she leant on him slightly as they both forced their way through the metal maze around them. Standing back on the concrete floor of the warehouse, they both stopped to look around at the devastation the fire had caused. Flames flickering just feet away; the silence now broken by their heavy breathing and the sound of fire continuing its path of destruction. Nodding towards the doorway, Kate and Rick leaned on each other as they stumbled their way around the patches of burning wood. As the doorway loomed in front of them a crash resounded from behind them. They both turned just in time to see another fragment of shipping container fall from above them. Gasping Kate shook as they watched as the container that had protected them from the brunt of the explosion was crushed. Explosions could be heard in the distance and mutually they both spun back around and forced their way through the door.

* * *

The sun beamed down outside the burning warehouse. Police, medical and fire vehicles were dotted around the parking lot and they staggered in the general direction of her cruiser. If they had looked up they would have seen the shock covering Ryan and Esposito's faces as they walked out of the burning warehouse. Wrapped around each other; with the backdrop of the burning building they looked like they had just walked out of an action film shoot.

Another loud explosion had everyone turning towards the warehouse, searching for the source. Seconds later, the roof of the building disappeared inwards in front of their eyes. Kate looked up as Rick turned back to face her, a tired smile pressing on her features.

"You got him KB." His whispered words caused her gaze to flit back to Ryan and Esposito's cruiser. In the backseat sat the recently arrested state attorney who had ordered the hit on her mother. She nodded before leaning up and pressing her lips briefly to his.

"Thanks Partner."


End file.
